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Archmages
Archmages are a subgroup of incantational mages, who use the same methods to cast their spells, but have more powerful and more plentiful magic. In the Medieval game, Archmage was a role assigned to one of the initial four House Jade players. Distinction The main difference between an archmage and an ordinary mage is in their capacity of power - they have a greater amount of magic than a normal mage, and in some ways the magic itself is stronger as well, and in some cases capable of breaking the known limits of magic. Archmages also tend to possess an innate ability to work with magic, up to the point of being able to cast some spells without speaking the incantation. They are usually gifted spellcasters and often faster and more powerful in casting the same spells as their non-archmage peers. By virtue of having more power to draw from, there are some spells that only archmages can perform without a spell circle, and some group spells that require at least one archmage to cast a portion of the spell. Occasionally this extra strength can backfire; some mages find that they can cast spells without meaning to, and others have trouble with crystal-based wands, shattering the crystals when they try to cast spells with them. Possibly tied to their innate grasp of magic, archmages are also capable, in moments of extreme desperation and with immense concentration, able to direct magic through their arm and out of their hand rather than through a wand. Since a wand (the core in particular) is rather important for safely drawing magic out of a mage, an archmage without this protection will burn their palm and possibly their arm from the magic’s forceful exit and immediate proximity. Forcing the magic outwards this way will cause severe pain even outside of the burn, and will drain the archmage much more quickly than casting the same spell through a wand. Though Kythians of course aren’t aware of it, there is a genetic component to being a mage. Whether a person possesses magic or not is determined by several different genes; an archmage requires an even more precise genotype, possibly requiring additional genes to be in a particular configuration. Archmage Blocks Young archmages do not naturally have full access to their power. Though they can use magic at about the level of an ordinary mage, the additional strength is clamped down on; left unchecked, the strain of maintaining these blocks causes stress on the mage's body and brain; different archmages are affected differently, but the symptoms almost always resemble those of a neurological disorder. If not properly broken, the blocks become worse as the archmage gets older, eventually culminating in an archmage's teen years to a point where the effects become more intense, near-constant, and make it almost if not completley impossible to even attempt living normally. Testing for archmage abilities is a complicated process, requiring multiple mages, a few days, and additional testing that can take weeks after the test itself. If archmage powers are discovered, more and more complex spellwork is used to soften the blocks, so that they slowly fade away on their own as the archmage gets older. Alternatively, a teenage archmage’s blocked powers may break free of the blocks all on their own, through some moment of extreme emotion and, often, physical trauma. This release of power seems to react to whatever caused the emotional distress, usually attempting to fix whatever caused the trauma. For some time following a violent breaking like this, an archmage’s powers will react hectically, usually but not always in conjunction with strong emotions. These wandless, wordless magical acts begin to disappear when an archmage begins actively training their newfound abilities. Archmage Testing Magic has a particular trait generally referred to as resonance, though it has nothing to do with sound; rather, this trait is measured through the pouring of magic through different varieties of very precise crystal (such exact precision is not required in wand use, since the crystals simply amplify power and don’t need to be used as measuring instruments or hold the enhancements needed for reading resonance) and observing various effects. The description as “resonance” comes more from the idea that a mage’s power reverberates within the crystal and produces the effects. To test a mage for archmage abilities, a young mage is very carefully brought into a state where they can release small bits of their magic without having to cast a full spell - bringing someone into and back out of this state safely is quite tricky, and even under mages talented in this endeavor, only a few crystals can be charged with magic at a time; trying to do too much will cause the mage to pass out, and the general goal is to just ease them back out of the state while they’re still conscious (after which the testee is likely to still need a good long rest before they’re ready for more). The crystals are later examined and the resonance of the magic determined through changes in the crystals’ properties - such as color, weight, shape, luster, hardness, and more peculiar variations such as reactions from animals, the number of ripples striking it on the side of a water-filled bowl will produce, and what temperature it settles upon when left in rooms of certain warmth or coolness. Occasionally, the crystals may be put into a wand-like construct to cast a spell and determine its results. If a mage is determined to have archmage-level abilities, the blocks on their abilities can then be softened; in another few sessions of drawing-state, the archmage can be coaxed through guiding their magic to press steadily against the blocks, perforate them, and generally linger near the blocks to slowly and steadily deteriorate them as the power grows, allowing for a fairly smooth transition into their full power. Due to the complexity of the spellwork and measurement, the specifications required of the crystals, and the high chance of any one of these valuable crystals breaking during testing, archmage testing is a very expensive process. Canon Archmages * Leif Jade * Absolon * Unnamed archmage in The Power of an Archmage roleplay * Zuzanna Panem Game Mechanics In the gameplay of Medieval, Archmage was a role held by one of the initial four House Jade players. It can be considered the mirror to House Stallion's Inventor role. Each night, the archmage had options to: * Use one of five spells from their spellbook * Learn a new spell from their spellbook * Teach Water into Wine or Create-A-Stone to another player * Perform neutral actions Spellbook and Spells The archmage's spellbook contained five spells. Without the spellbook in their inventory, the archmage is unable to cast spells more difficult than Create-A-Stone, and has to pay ___ to purchase a new one (though in-universe, the original spellbook was simply recovered by House Jade). Category:Magic